Stay-in-home seniors drive remodeling boom

Changes, products meant to keep aging population safe and comfortable

November 27, 2013|By Kay Manning, Special to the Tribune

Home modifications for aging residents -- such as ramps, handrails and step-in showers -- are part of a concept called aging-in-place. It has spawned an industry of people and products that helps seniors modify their homes to be more safe and comfortable. (Andrew A. Nelles, Tribune photo)

Mary Reese, 70, loves to plant flowers and visit the children in her Waukegan neighborhood, but a balky back was keeping her from trying to navigate treacherous stairs to the outside.

"I never did anything to them," Reese said of the backyard staircase in the house she's lived in since 1989, "and they rotted away. I never prepared for retirement age. I regret it, but I can't go back in life."

She did find help. She learned about a grant to pay for repairs or modifications that allow seniors to stay in their homes. The new stairs cost her $40.

"I'm praying to stay here until I pass away," Reese said. "I pray to do for myself."

Pride, familiarity and emotional attachments lead many seniors to cling to the idea of staying put, even as once-routine tasks and activities become difficult or impossible. Bathrooms, kitchens, garages and basements that were fine when seniors were healthy and mobile start to pose risks to their safety and independence as they become more fragile.

While many alternatives exist — assisted living, nursing homes, senior villages — for a population expected to double to 80 million between now and 2050, a concept called aging-in-place has spawned an industry of people and products that helps seniors modify their homes to be more safe and comfortable.

That can mean raising toilets, lowering cabinets, adding handrails and grab bars, installing walk-in tubs or showers, adjusting lighting and color schemes or eliminating stairs and thresholds. Manufacturers appear to be keeping up with the demand — AARP says 89 percent of those 50 and older want to age in their houses — by offering functional products that are aesthetic, not institutional. With their homes a major asset, seniors want to preserve value even as they make changes.

"It's to help people in transition, at a crossroads. Their kids have moved out; they've made the decision to stay in their homes. Now they ask, 'How do I get this environment to help me age successfully?'" said Mary Jo Zeller, director of GERO Solutions in Arlington Heights, part of the nonprofit Lutheran Life Communities, which offers coordination of relocations, remodeling, caregiving and other services for seniors.

The issue can come to the fore suddenly. After a fall or illness, an elderly person's doctor may say he or she can return home instead of recuperating in a nursing or rehabilitation facility if certain precautions are in place. A specialist such as Bill Schafer, who has completed training from the National Association of Home Builders and earned the certified aging-in-place specialist (CAPS) designation, may be asked to assess the home and make modifications quickly.

"A woman will call and say my husband fell and we need grab bars," said Schafer, of Schafer Brothers Remodeling in Crystal Lake, "or they had an accident and need ramps and sinks lowered."

He helped Regina Galaher, 82, of Lake in the Hills, by removing her bathtub and installing a step-in shower with a seat and lower-mounted temperature controls, and attaching handrails near her stairs.

"God is not ready for me yet," Galaher said. "I thought it was a good idea to jump (on the suggestions). I have a balance problem and am to the point now that I can't take a shower by myself."

Schafer laments that many seniors wait too long to make modifications, maybe out of pride or denial.

"They just put up with it when they could have something to make their life easier," he said.

Some seniors, such as Shirley VanDenBrook, 79, look ahead — sometimes at the urging of adult children — and plan changes even before their health demands them.

After her husband died a year ago, VanDenBrook knew in her heart that she should leave their home of 44 years in Michigan and move near children and grandchildren in Elmhurst, but she took months to make up her mind.

"There was the realization that things happen. I couldn't just turn a blind eye. I wanted to make it easier on my children," VanDenBrook said. "But it was very hard to give up my friends. I loved where I lived."

Before she settled into the single-story house owned by one of her children, a consultant from GERO Solutions assessed its safety features and added suggestions to those VanDenBrook had compiled about adequate lighting, no throw rugs and other measures. Locks were replaced so each one operated the same way, avoiding confusion over keys and mechanisms. Her driveway was straightened to make backing easier. Grab bars were attached near the tub.

"It's still a work in progress," VanDenBrook said. "My husband had been ill for a couple of years, and it had been suggested that he go into assisted living and I go into independent living in the same facility. I wasn't ready for that at all. I like to cook, to make my own decisions. For those who need it, that's great, and maybe I'll need that sometime …" she said, her voice trailing off.